The Cowboys posted 31 points in their Thanksgiving loss to the Washington Redskins, but that doesn’t mean the offense played well. In reality, the Cowboys averaged only 3.18 YPC on the ground and 6.61 net-YPA through the air (that including sacks). The Cowboys were down big so early that they ended up running 75 plays, inflating the score so that it didn’t mirror their offensive efficiency.

After analyzing the film, it’s pretty clear that the Redskins made a concerted effort to disguise their defensive intentions. They lined up in odd fronts, showing blitz and then backing out and vice versa, all in an attempt to confuse Tony Romo and the offensive line. Of the 73 offensive plays that weren’t a kneel down or spike, the Redskins disguised their intentions on 25 of them (34.2 percent).

Washington brought the heat, too, blitzing on 28 plays. All told, the Redskins either blitzed or showed blitz on over half of the Cowboys’ snaps—41 in total. That’s 56.1 percent, which is remarkable. In comparison, the Cowboys had faced a blitz or a feigned blitz on 30.2 percent of snaps coming into this game, meaning Washington mixed up their looks about twice as often as the average Dallas opponent.

The Cowboys were obviously fighting out of a big hole from the start, so the Redskins had a lot of options defensively. Still, they brought heat on Romo up until the final drive, and both of Romo’s interceptions came against the blitz. This trend—to try to confuse Romo and the Cowboys’ offense before the snap—has increased dramatically in 2012 as compared to past seasons. There’s no reason to think it will stop any time soon.